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Moon Gardens

Choosing plants to use around garden lighting for day and night enjoyment.

By Todd Layt


Offices, apartment complexes, parks, and many houses have garden lighting, but it is rare that Landscape professionals use plants that stand out and shine under artificial light or in a full moon. Most of the time the lights are placed in the garden to simply light the way for paths. By using at least some plants in these situations that glow, it really adds to the landscape effect. Flowers that are white or vivid yellow are one choice, but some foliage plants should also be used, as these types of plants often shine all year round.

There are many articles that have been written about moon gardens, but most are from the USA, and many of those plants are not available here. The other issue is that these stories generally focus on plants that flower in the full moon only, and do not flower in the day. It makes more sense however to use plants that flower in the day and night, and foliage plants that look good both in the day and night. In choosing plants for moon gardens I have used this approach, for both flowering plants and foliage plants. I basically walked around gardens in the full moon and listed plants that shined.


Foliage Plants.

Variegated grasses, and strappy leaf plants make ideal moon garden plants. Use them for colour contrast, but don’t go overboard. Place them strategically as highlights through the garden especially near garden lights. Let them draw your eye in rather than using them everywhere.  Pennstripe is a white and green Variegated Pennisetum that works Australia wide. It needs cutting back in late winter, and will add colour in the day and night to any garden. Pure Blonde is the ideal Moon garden Liriope. It really stands out with its full cream coloured foliage in spring and early summer. This one is best used in sheltered gardens away from high winds or in light to heavy shaded gardens. A new Liriope called Silver Star has incredibly vivid white and green foliage, and really stands out in the day and night. Pink Pearl with its green and cream variegated foliage shines at night, and its vivid pink flowers look amazing in the day. Ophiopogon Stripy White although not as vivid as Silver Star, and is widely available and a good choice particularly for Queensland. Silveredge, is a variegated Mondo that is ideal as a colour contrasting border plant. All these Liriopes and Ophiopogons benefit from a yearly late winter prune. All too often we see Stripy White looking burnt and untidy, but a yearly prune fixes that. For Victoria, Southern NSW, South Australia, Tasmania, and most of WA, there are some really nice Dianellas that shine in the day and night all year round. Wyeena is a robust white and green form of Dianella tasmanica, that not only adds night and day contrast, but also adds toughness to the landscape. Destiny is a more compact form of Dianella with similar variegation. Variegated Tanika also works well in these regions. If you live in Queensland or Northern NSW, Silver Streak is the best Dianella for white contrast, but only near the coast where there are no frosts. Silvertine is a variegated Lomandra that works in Sydney, Northern NSW and Queensland handling frosts and humidity. It is available from a few nurseries, but is a new release. Variegated Society Garlic is another widely used plant that shines day and night, and works Australia wide.

 There are not many good tough variegated foliage shrubs, that provide night contrast, so in the main it is best to stick to grasses and strappy leaf plants, although Abelia grandiflora 'Shorty' is one that may work. If water is not an issue, Variegated English Buxus has vivid white and green leaves. Variegated Pittosporum tenuifolium could be used as a screen plant, or Westringia Morning Light as a shrub but both will need regular pruning. One low maintenance climber or groundcover that is useful in Moon gardens is Trachelospermum jasminoides "Tri Color", although it is its new growth that will shine, so some pruning will benefit the show.

Silvery or grey foliage plants can also bring a nice accent to the moon garden. Although not as vivid as the whites and yellows, they still create some contrast. Plants like Grey Box, a grey foliage Westringia are ideal, as they also have white flowers. Other possibilities include grey foliage salt bush, or Eremophilas, or blue foliage Dianellas like Cassa Blue.


Flowering Moon garden plants.

With flowering plants, you have periodic displays, so it is a good idea to use these in amongst your all year foliage moon garden plants.  Try using ones that flower at different times of the year. In summer around Christmas, when many are entertaining, my moonlight walks showed one standout clear winner. Queen Mum, with its huge white and blue flowers lit up the garden. It was a real show under the moon. Queen Mum’s flowers are much larger than a common white form, and seeds much less so it is a safer choice. In the day you get the blue contrasting with the white of the flower, adding excitement for both day and night. Another stand out at Christmas were several large Cactus plants. The flowers were huge and literally glowed in the night, opening to the full moon, and over the next few weeks they opened during the day as well.  Many other white flowering plants open in the day, and stay open in the evening. Climbing Pandorea jasminoides, white Roses and white flowering Gardenias all looked great at midnight, as well as during the day. A new Gardenia called O So Fine, was literally massed with white flowers, and looked particularly good. It is a compact more dense form of Gardenia radicans, and makes a great ground cover. White flowering Azaleas like Autumn Starlight, or white flowering Westringias such as Mundi or Grey Box also put on a show in the day, and still looked good under moon light or garden lights. Although I did not witness the next few plants flowering, I have found evidence that white flowering Camellia’s, Hydrangeas, and Verbenas open day and night. Dieties grandiflora and irridoidies were open in the day and night on my moonlight walk, and even the yellow flowering form stood out. Yellow flowers can also stand out at night, and one that did was Gold Velvet, a black spot resistant Kangaroo paw. This plant flowers for about 6 to 8 months of the year, so it is a great choice for gardens with lighting. Grevillea Moonlight is a tree that has showy flowers when lit at night.

When constructing a garden with lights, you still need green plants such as shrubs, hedges, mass planted areas or lawn to contrast with the white foliage or white and yellow flowering plants, or silvery tones. Whenever Landscape professionals construct a garden with lighting, they should give great thought to the plants they use. A garden that can be enjoyed in the day and night is twice as good.

A tropical garden does not take effect with little lighting.

Pure Blonde™ looks stunning against the moon light.

Queen Mum™ has flowers that stand out at night.

Beautiful Cactus flowers at night.